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Personal CBG #1 - The Rubber-Bridge Experiment

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  Most folks who know me also know I like to modify and work on guitars as much as I like to play them. In 2023 I had some experimental finishes I was trying to do fail miserably , and basically the amount of work I would have had to put into stripping the bodies back down and starting over just felt like a level of surrender I wasn't willing to concede to. Instead, I decided to pull out a jigsaw, turn the bodies into center blocks and get some nice quality wooden cigar boxes that would be big enough to make a standout Cigar Box Guitar. This was my first CBG, and it (like its tune-o-matic equipped twin) remains in my studio to this day being put to work recording and inspiring new song ideas. Going into cigar box guitar building, I wanted something that was built for a guitar player, by a guitar player. Something that I could easily whip out a slide and play, or play it like a normal guitar. So using the middle strip of the body of a ruined electric guitar as a mounting point for a...
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The "Bunch Box" Acoustic Cigar Box Guitar

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  I have a friend who showed interest in my work, and who'd been pondering the idea of getting back into playing guitar (specifically wanting an acoustic-electric), so I thought I would build him one as a birthday gift for his birthday in early 2024.  What I built is definitely is not a traditional acoustic in any sense, but it will be a fun, kind of mellow sounding guitar he can comfortably fool around with while watching TV, and maybe more.  I found this box on eBay, which was one of those keepsake/arts-n-crafts type boxes, but it was good quality, thick wood, with heavy-duty hinges and clasp. I got it for a good price, so I didn't mind cutting into it and turning it into a playable work of art. I went with multiple meshed soundhole covers to give it a little flair. Since this was a deeper box, I made reinforcement blocks to go in all four corners which I could use finishing screws/washers to hold everything together tight. Everything about this build was unique, using ...
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Location: W4WVK Studios
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AF QB Super-Deluxe #1 - "Scrappycaster"

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  In late 2024 I was having a discussion with fellow musician regarding some of his needs for performing and recording instruments. He had most of the bases covered, but was still looking for a double-humbucker-equipped guitar for those Gibson-esque fat tones when needed, having bumped into one another at a local big-box musical instrument store.  As we were talking specs, an epiphany hit him, and he said something along the lines of, "why are we here--why don't I just have you build me something?" It made sense, as I knew what he wanted to achieve, and what he'd be comfortable with, so I started throwing options and questions at him.  The end result turned out quite nice. Knowing he mostly plays acoustic (most acoustics tend to be a 25.5" scale length) and has a couple of 25.5" scale electrics, I knew he'd be comfortable with one of my builds. I chose one with a Telecaser-ish profile, full-maple, and after some back-and-forth, we settled on the Arturo F...
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Location: W4WVK Studios
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Padron Duo-Shawty - Short-scale CBG

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  I came across a neat short-scale neck---kind of like a Fender Duo Sonic scale (22"-ish)---and thought it would make for an awesome build with one of my leftover Padron boxes.  I love the Padron cigar boxes, and they make terrific CBGs, but admittedly to my eyes they always seem (at least to my eye) to be a little on the small side (a little narrow from bass-bout to treble-bout). But knock a couple inches off the scale length of the neck, and it's a perfect fit!  This is a straight-to-the-point CBG loaded with dual-single-coil pickups, as well as the obligatory hidden piezo. An independent volume control for all three pickups, and a master tone control keeps it simple while offering tonal versatility. A hardtail Strat-style bridge gives it stability, intonation control and contemporary playability. All-killer, no-filler and ready to inspire!
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Location: W4WVK Studios
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Gran Legado 5-string Music Man style 5-string bass - Custom Order

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  So my old buddy Cameron and I were catching up on things, and he hinted at being curious as to whether or not one of my CBGs could be implanted with a Music Man Stingray style layout/electronics. Now, what you folks who read these posts know already is that I love a challenge (within reason), and this idea was not too far out of scope.  From the get-go, I knew I'd have to use a wider box than my typical "Stick of Boom" bass models that I'd built using the long-but-narrow Man-O-War Phalanx and War Horse boxes (got to have room for the pickup's preamp and such), which I was able to find in these Gran Legado boxes. The GL boxes are quirky, but CBG crafting has definitely taught me how to use my critical thinking skills and pivot when necessary. So I went for it.  Using the last plank of my prized maple that was kindly donated last year (because I wanted this one to be STOUT), and using the same style 5-string neck as I did on a previous custom-built 5-string earlie...
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Location: W4WVK Studios
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"The Truckster" - A CBG for the Versatile Player (Personal Build) - The "OG"

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  Okay, okay, okay...I've shown you a couple of customer builds based on "The Truckster", my own personal vibrato-equipped hotrod, but you haven't really gotten a good look at the OG yet. Well, here it is! This is one I built for myself, as something to show off and freak people out when I do the hired-gun or fill-in gigs. After all, what's a better way to demonstrate my builds than to play them myself??? Much like "The Goose" that I built specifically for use in W4WVK , I made this with some elements in common with my SG guitars, and instead of the proprietary "bass" pickup needed for when I'm handling those split guitar/bass parts in "the VK", this one has a normal humbucker in the neck. Coil-splitting on each volume for the two humbuckers (via push-pull pots), and a master tone control, plus a volume control for the hidden piezo discs that can get a cool lo-fi acoustic-y sound.  Where I used a short Maestro style vibrola on The...
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Location: W4WVK Studios
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Oliva 135th Ann - O135GTHT "Gold Truckster Hardtail" - Custom Order

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  "Tay"-k 2? Tay liked his golden-hardware-equipped Truckster so much that he ordered a second immediately. This one he was sharing with his uncle, and was to be a hardtail version, but otherwise the same instrument. What an awesome nephew, right??? So I basically built a clone of Tay's, just with a Wilkinson top-loader "Strat"-style bridge instead of the tune-o-matic bridge and vibrato tailpiece.  Like with Tay's vibrato-equipped model, the "HT" still features a pair of Firebird-style pickups (with independent volumes, master tone and a 3-way switch) plus a hidden piezo disc with a volume control for the nasty lo-fi old-school CBG tones. As you can see, it turned out very nice, with all the same tones and playability as the previous one. I have to say, while I personally have never been a huge fan of gold hardware, it seems to really work on these, giving them an elevated classiness that just "pops".  The neck features matching gold spli...
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Location: W4WVK Studios
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